I’m still here - just avoiding typing about it...

Hey!

I guess this technically counts as a post-Vancouver whirlwind blog, just 6 and a bit months late! I really wanted to share tons of interesting tidbits from our 2 full days on the west coast, but when we got home, reality kinda set in HARD. The only way I was going to share my Vancouver Adventures with "former clients" was through this platform, and not in person the way I wanted to. I honestly think that was when it REALLY started to sink in that my next 27 years definitely were not going to resemble my last 27 years. When I would meet up with clients for a coffee or lunch within the first few months of my retirement (the couple of times that’s happened), I’d walk away a fantastic combination of very happy and pretty depressed - so the less contact the better right?

Well, wrong. 

I have decided that I need to start making a much better effort at keeping in touch with everyone, even if this is the only "time efficient" way I have (40 hour work weeks are time-suckers). I don’t know who’s read these, who hasn’t and if anyone is still even interested, but I feel like I need to share because it helps me feel connected to “my previous life”. So, if you want to come along for a catch-up ride, you are welcome to join me in my wee corner of the internet.

I’d also like to report that my hands and wrists are feeling much better. My shoulders on the other hand suck - but that's because desks are stupid. I have also not had any random finger joint bruising since January (which is another plus because purple sausage fingers look awful). So, as much as I miss my “old life”, my body is telling me I made the right decision.

So, on to Vancouver - the whirlwind experience.

Paul and I flew to Vancouver on (Tuesday) March 5th for the OK Tire AGM and Conference. Yup, that’s right, Vancouver - not Dominican, not New Orleans, not Cancun… Vancouver - home of OK Tire head office (okay, it’s in Surrey, but as my kids would have said when they were younger - “same, same, different name”). This year, it was decided that this “meeting of the minds” needed to be more economical compared to years past - which I totally appreciate and understand, but a week relaxing in the warm sun would have been very very welcome. So, after a crazy drive to the airport (thank you backed up 401), a smooth flight and easy transfer to our hotel/conference centre, we found ourselves enjoying a beautiful spring evening in Vancouver complete with wine from the Okanogan Valley (when in Rome…). 

The second day was a FULL DAY of all-things OK Tire (12 hours worth) - Breakfast with a bunch of familiar faces from conferences past, an AGM that I didn’t attend (it sounded like a doozy - but I’m pretty confident that I enjoyed my time in the hotel gym WAY more than I would have at the AGM), lunch, an afternoon of presentations, updates and then the trade show took us into the evening (thank heavens it had munchies and some bevvies to keep us going). We got time to speak with everyone we wanted to at the conference, and even managed to snag some time chatting with the CEO. Now Tony (the CEO) was a gracious host when he found out Paul had never been in Vancouver before (I was in Richmond for a cranio course in 2008) and made some amazing restaurant suggestions after he found out we’d be playing tourist in downtown the next day. Unfortunately they were all VERY out of our price range (haha). Once the conference wrapped up, we ate a very late dinner at the hotel restaurant overlooking the Fraser River and then crashed for the night. Who knew talking tires and auto mechanic stuff could be that exhausting????

Thursday was a clear, sunny day in VANCOUVER - yes, that’s right folks - clear, crisp sunshine showing off the breathtaking mountains surrounding the city. We gobbled up our breakfast, snagged our full-day transit pass (thank you 2010 Olympics for the great public transit system that Vancouver enjoys) and headed over to Stanley Park. We enjoyed a horse drawn carriage ride around the park and learned a ton about the place named after that guy who donated a wee mug to some hockey dudes over 100 years ago. We followed up our ride around the park with a walk around the seawall and lunch in a quaint spot beside a marina. We sat there for over 2 hours just taking in the scenery. We then explored Canada Place, watched float planes take off and land on the water, and were in awe of the shipping yards in the harbour. I swear Paul could just watch boats and planes all day long and be completely content. We found a reasonably priced local restaurant for dinner and then crashed out once again after a full day of rain-free sea-air.

Friday we packed up our stuff and headed to the airport first thing in the morning. Next thing we knew - we were back in Ontario hoping to find our house still standing. This was Nathan’s first time staying home on his own for a few nights while needing to be at school and at his co-op placement. I am happy to say he managed just fine (okay, I did need to send a few reminders here and there, but most of the tasks had already been completed - chalk one up for Nate).

The rest of March consisted of March Break, my boy child joining the gym (because heaven knows I don’t have ANY gym equipment in the garage that he could use) and celebrating AC Tire Sales & Service’s 30th anniversary. Oh yeah, to make life even more confusing at my job, we have 2 names - our legal name and our franchise name (it’s fun calling other stores/vendors/companies trying to figure out which name they know us by). On March 28th 1994 my father-in-law opened up AC Tire in New Hamburg, and then joined the OK Tire family 2 years later. He moved the shop to Baden about 14 years ago. It was fun listening to him tell his employees his story, and how he started in the business over 50 years ago. Most of them know him as the “old” boss guy with a limp, not the tire guy changing transport truck tires on the sidewalk of the first garage he worked for (they would have to have to clear the sidewalk for pedestrians while they were working). A few guys from our corporate offices even stopped in with well wishes (and of course coffee and donuts - the mechanic/tire guy diet staple).

So, there’s my March in a few paragraphs. My next blog post will encompass April and May. Highlights to be covered are: Gillian stayed in Ottawa this summer (boo for me - yay for her), my parents put their house up for sale (after living there for 54 years), I no longer have “children”, and prom.

PLEASE feel free to reach out and let me know what you are up to. I do miss everyone terribly and think of all of you OFTEN. If you have made it this far through the blog, and want to leave a “hi” in the comments to let me know you’ve seen this, that would be awesome.

I’ll see you all with my April/May catch-up next week(ish).

​Cheers!

Proof - it was sunny in Vancouver!

Our ride in Stanley Park